ONLY I AM LEFT TO TELL THE TALE_SHOW VERSUS TELL BLOGFEST entry

I am Elu, Apache diyi. And I only am left to tell the tale of Man, for I exist only in mirrors. If the White man had just been content to destroy himself, I would be glad.

But it is the White Man's way to destroy all he touches -- even his entire world.

Where to begin?

Do I begin with the madman who tainted ice cream he gave for free to the children on the streets of Detroit? The poisoned dessert that turned those children into the walking dead?

No. Instead I will begin with the seven year old Victor Standish. Abandoned by his mother, the Angel of Death, he sat in a swing in a Detroit playground, misunderstanding completely why she had left him.

As Death, she was Allwheres, Alltimes at once. She could no longer take him with her lest she destroy his sanity.

Being Death's son, Victor unknowingly drew the undead children to him. Showing the largeness of heart that would one day be his undoing, he saved the white girl beside him.

His mother's touch was already removing most of the memories of his wanderings. But though he could not place the face or form of his centaur teacher, Chiron, Victor remembered his teachings.

When surrounded by enemies, seize your sword, thrust up your shield, and find the high ground.

And this Victor did, taking the white girl, Becky, with him, though taunting and herding her. He found his sword, a fallen baseball bat. He picked up his shield, a discarded garbage can lid.

In the towering child's slide and swing bars, Victor found his high ground. He found his first teacher in free running, the black boy, LeRoy. He found his rage against his deserting mother. He channeled it to fend off the undead horde.

But they were too many.

His rage exploded. Tapping into the power of his mother's blood, Victor screamed for the undead to die. And since he was his mother's son, they did just that.

Above Victor, safe from his death-scream, Becky lowered her slingshot, looking at Victor in wonder. LeRoy pushed the three unmoving, undead children from the top of the slide. The small white girl in glasses began to shiver from shock.

The enemy was defeated ... for the moment.

Standing a layer of life from Victor, his mother, Death, cried black tears. Her son had proven he could survive without her.

She decided to cast him only on the deadliest streets. Then, though he would never again be by her side, he would always be in her heart and in her sight.

Still, there were other undead children than the ones killed in the playground.

OMG. You know, I do realize that we're supposed to SHOW not TELL but this was JUST AS GOOD as the other version! It gave a lot more information directly to the reader, yes, but it worked in this piece.

I guess it's the sign of a good writer to pull off both...you are certainly that!

Tessa : With the kind of coughing day I'm having at work, your words sure made the afternoon a lot better. Thanks for the kind words. I tried to make this TELL lend depth and irony to the narration by Victor. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I certainly needed the emotional boost this solo work day!

...even though Victor was abandoned, his heart was always in the right place, with his mother."She decided to cast him only on the deadliest streets. Then, though he would never again be by her side, he would always be in her heart and in her sight."

Imagery Imagined : Glad you liked that line that explains why his mother, Death, cast him only on the deadly streets -- so that when she appeared to retrieved the dying souls, she would see Victor once more. Yes, that cough is starting to irritate me. One co-worker is already out with it. Guess I will just have to manage somehow. Have a great weekend yourself, Roland

Michael : Like you, I feel TELLING can be done well and entertaininly. I think the writing teachers fear that too much TELLING can make the reader feel distant from the action. But like you said, if done well, there is nothing wrong with it.

Words Crafter : Poor Victor has really had a hard time of it, but he's found friends, like you say, that are worth the rough road it took to get to them! And yes, he does have an ounce or two of courage and about ten pounds of attitude! LOL!

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